“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, LORD my God,

are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—but my ears you have opened—burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, LORD, as you know. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.

I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.” Psalm 40:1-10

“Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us”, says the Psalmist. As humans, we tend to be short term observers. In other words, we are really good at worrying about and fussing over the now, but have a harder time looking to the future. Which means, of course, that, though the Lord has plans for each one of us, we are really good at being short-sighted. But, could the Lord have any other options? If you knew, of course, that by the end of your life you will have three houses and plenty of cash in the bank, would or could that change the decisions you make right now? I am afraid it would — and not necessarily for the better.

Of course, the writer of this Psalm states that he was lifted from a “slimy pit — out of the mud and mire; and (the Lord) set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” And this was all possible because, as the Psalmist states, he “waited patiently for the Lord.” None of us want to remain in the pit — in the worst of situations — waiting for the Lord to act. But perhaps that is not what our perspective should be. Rather than looking at is as “waiting, wondering if the Lord will act” — we should focus on “waiting, knowing that the Lord WILL act.”

PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, you became obedient to death and your name was exalted above all others. Teach us always to do the Father’s will, so that, made holy by your obedience and united to your sacrifice, we can know your great love in times of sorrow and sing a new song to our God now and forever.

Amen.

April 11th — Psalm 41

“Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble. The LORD protects and preserves them—they are counted among the blessed in the land—he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness. I said, “Have mercy on me, LORD; heal me, for I have sinned against you.” My enemies say of me in malice,“When will he die and his name perish? ” When one of them comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it around. All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, “A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.” Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. But may you have mercy on me, LORD; raise me up, that I may repay them. I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever. Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.” Psalm 41

As I look back on my life I have to admit that the people who have hurt me the most, usually have been those whom I considered my closest and most trusted friends. I know my enemies do not want anything good to come of my life — but I do not expect this behavior to come from a friend or Christian “brother” or “sister”.

While it has been said to “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer”, perhaps there are times when it would be wise to evaluate your friends on a regular basis. It is most important that we enter all friendships and relationships with eyes open knowing that we are part of a broken race, a fallen humanity where we may be hurt by the ones we love and sadly, even cause hurt to those we love. We must live every day seeking trusting the mercy of G-d, and the love of Jesus so we can offer that love, unconditionally. It is when we lose sight of this love, when try to navigate this life on our own, that we get ourselves in real trouble. The life of the Christian is to give love no matter how little we receive back. That is being conformed to the image of Christ.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, healer of soul and body, you said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Teach us to come to the aid of the needy in a spirit of love, as we have been received and strengthened by you; and to you be the glory and praise now and forever.

Amen.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon —from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42

“If you refer to the inscription with which this psalm opens, you will find that it is addressed to the Choirmaster, and is called a Maskil of the Sons of Korah. These inscriptions are part of the inspired record; they belong with the psalm and indicate something vital about it. Maskil is the Hebrew word for teaching. This Psalm is intended to teach something to us. What? Judging by the repeated refrain, it is intended to teach us how to handle our blue moods, the times when we get up in the morning and say, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?” (Ray Stedman, A Song of Confidence)

We all know that there are some mornings where we seem to come alive as soon as our feet hit the floor — we hit the day saying “Good morning, G-d.” And then, there are those other mornings, those days where we can hardly drag our bodies out of bed — where we can only manage to pry open our eyelids, sit dejectedly on the side of the bed and say, “Good G-d, it’s morning.”

It is the later of my examples that are in view here — those mornings of dejection and self-pity. The Psalmist comes to us with an answer for each blue mood, each bad day, each time we want to give up: “Hope in G-d;” i.e., wait for G-d. G-d is in control — even when everything around us seems to be telling us different. G-d is working out G-d’s purposes — we just need to hang in and hang on — and to continue to praise G-d for all G-d has blessed us with.

PRAYER

Lord God, never-failing fountain of life, through the saving waters of baptism you called us from the depth of sin to the depths of mercy. Do not forget the trials of our exile, but from the wellspring of the Word satisfy our thirst for you, so that we may come rejoicing to your holy mountain, where you live and reign now and forever.

Amen.